GREENVILLE, S.C. — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said her team deserves to be the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament following a dominant run through the Southeastern Conference tournament, culminating in an impressive 64-45 rout of No. 1 Texas in Sunday’s championship game.
The Gamecocks (30-3) entered the SEC tournament ranked fifth in the country and projected to be a No. 2 seed.
But after throttling three league foes by 18, 21 and 19 points, a No. 1 seed now seems to be a lock.
However, Staley thinks her team has earned more.
“When you win this tournament and play the schedule that we play, I do think we’re the No. 1 overall seed,” Staley said. “We manufactured our schedule to put ourselves in this situation. So I hope the committee doesn’t discount our entire resume. There isn’t anybody in the country that has played the schedule that we have played, that had share of the regular-season title, won this tournament and beat the No. 1 team in the country. … There is no one.”
She argued that the Gamecocks’ 2024-25 resume — which includes 12 wins against top-25 teams, including two against Texas — should count for something. South Carolina boasts a 7-3 record against top-10 teams, with the three losses coming against No. 1 Texas, No….
